A Broken Heart
by Magdoflamoth
Summary: Nearly a year since Ilia and all the other children of Ordon returned home Ilia and Link plan to live a long and happy life together. That is, until Link falls deahtly ill. Will he be able to recover, or will he succumb to death, leaving Ilia alone?


_So, this is only my second attempt at a Fanfic, so please be kind in your reviews. _

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Disclaimer: I in no way, shape or form own the rights to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess or any of its characters, plot ideas and anything else.

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"_Water..." _

_The young woman looked down to see the source of the hoarse whisper. A young man lay in the bed before her, his face pale as death itself, his eyes— once so vibrant and full of life— nothing more than dull blue orbs. A harsh rasping noise filled the small room as the dying man struggled for breath. The girl dipped a small cloth into a nearby bowl of water and carefully brought it to her companion's mouth. The liquid dripped softly past his dry lips and into his waiting mouth. The woman paused to let the man swallow before offering more refreshing drink. The man shook his head slightly as a sign that he wanted no more._

"_Th-thank you. I—I'm—" a violent coughing fit struck the young man, sending his frail body into a spasm of pain. The woman carefully sat her companion up and rubbed his back in an attempt to stop the pain wracking her love's weak body. The man slowly calmed and the woman lay him back down gently on the soft pillow of the bed "I'm sorry...I-I should have listened to you..." The woman's green eyes shone with tears as she carefully took the man's cold hand._

"_Don't worry about that now." she said, gently rubbing her companion's hand, "You just need to rest."_

_The man coughed again in a feeble attempt to laugh. "I already...know... Y-you... n-never were... good at h-hiding... things f-from...me...I know...I-it's just my t-time"_

"_Please," the young woman begged, "please don't talk like that. You're going to be fine. Just—just wait and see."_

"_I only w-wish..." the young man said in an ever-fading whisper, "that were t-true... I'm s-so sorry..." the young man's eyes slowly slid closed as he took one last ragged breath. "I-I... love...you..." the young man let out a tranquil sigh as his head fell slowly to the side._

_The young woman sobbed sharply and closed her eyes, refusing to look upon the corpse of her lover. She dropped the young man's limp hand and buried her face in her own, warm hands. 'No,' she thought to herself, 'no! He can't be—he can't' the poor girl couldn't finish her thought. She pulled her hands from her face to look one last time at the man's gentle face. If not for the sickly color of his skin, the woman could have convinced herself that her companion was merely sleeping. With another sob, the girl threw herself upon the man's deathbed and cried._

_When a gentle hand reached for her shoulder, the girl looked up. The young woman who had tried so hard to save her love's life looked down at her, smiling slightly through a tear-stained face._

"_He'll always be with you. Never forget that." the older woman said softly._

"_I know... It's just... He won't be _with_ me. Just in my heart..." the girl whispered, looking back down at her companion's face._

"_Come. It is time to let the dead rest." The older woman gently pulled the girl from her seat and away from the young man's body. _

_As she ushered the younger girl out of the small room, the older woman lingered. She walked back to the young man and his bed and took the seat that the girl had been in moments before. She smiled weakly and carefully leaned over the body, gently kissing the man's cold forehead._

"_I did my best. But you already know that, don't you?" the woman looked at the corpse's calm face. "Nothing will be the same without you." _

_The woman took the damp cloth and used it to gently wipe the man's face clean. She replaced the cloth and lifted the man's pale arms and tucked them neatly underneath his blanket before pulling the covers all the way to the top of his head. The woman took one last look at the bloodless face of her hero before gently lowering the soft clot of the blanket to cover his soft features. _

_Once again smiling through tears, the woman walked over to the doorway once more. She paused to look back once more at the lifeless body on the bed. The blanket hugged the corpse gently, making its features its own as it shielded the body from peering eyes._

"_Goodbye." the woman whispered. "Goodbye...Link..." With a soft sob, the woman opened the door of the small cottage and stepped outside, leaving the hero's body to lay alone._

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Day One

The bright morning sun sent its warming rays cascading down upon the tanned face of the young woman. She stirred slightly from her deep sleep, at first puzzled by the sudden intrusion of her quarters, but she smiled as she realized that it was only the kind face of dawn smiling warmly upon her. Ilia carefully pushed back the inviting warmth of her blankets and swung her feet gently to the cool wood floor. She smoothly slipped out of her pajamas and into her usual attire before examining her appearance closely in the mirror.

Ilia frowned when she noticed the atrocious state of her hair, its usual curve in the back was drooping sleepily. Ilia lifted her brush and carefully lifted the hairs back into their natural position. As she watched her reflection in the mirror, Ilia tried to recall the dream she had had last night. The details were vague, and all the young woman could really remember was something about water. She turned her head from side to side, carefully examining her work. At last satisfied, Ilia carefully traced the steps down to the lower room of the small cottage that she shared with her father and mayor of the village, Bo. Giving her father a quick good morning wave, Ilia opened the great wooded door leading out into Ordon Village.

Ilia took a deep breath of the morning air sweetened by the nearby creek splashing softly to her right. Though no one stirred in the still shadowed dawn air, Ilia could tell that none of the other villagers had awoken yet. Well, at least one had. Ilia looked up at the sound of a soft whinny in the distance in time to see a brown horse with its pure white mane glowing in the moonlight trotting slowly from the path north of the village. What interesting Ilia more than the horse was its rider, a young man about Ilia's age, still wearing the dusty green tunic he had acquired during his journey nearly a year ago. Link smiled as he noticed Ilia standing in her doorway, and brought Epona to a halt in front of her.

Ilia patted the horse gently who answered by pawing the ground lightly with her hooves.

"I thought Fado gave you the day off today!" Ilia said, looking up at Link.

"He did." Link answered, "But I need to talk to him about something."

Link broke into a coughing fit and Epona looked back at her rider until the jarring noises rising from his lungs stopped.

"Are you alright?" Ilia asked, placing one foot into Epona's stirrup so she was at near eye level with the recovering swordsman.

"Of course I am. Just the cold getting to me." Link looked down at the concerned green eyes of his companion. "Really! I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"Hmm. If you say so..." Ilia thought for a moment, "Perhaps we could go for a ride on Epona together once you have finished you're business?"

Link smiled warmly, "Perhaps. But I really should be getting to Fado before he lets the goats out, but meet me here and I may take you up on your offer." Link carefully planted a kiss on Ilia's forehead before she jumped from his stirrups. Link pulled gently on Epona's reigns and guided the horse to the entrance to Fado's Ranch.

"Wait!" Ilia called, "How long will you take?"

Link slowed Epona's trot slightly, "Less than an hour." he shouted back at her.

As Ilia watched Link disappear behind a curve in the path, Ilia rushed back inside her dark home to get ready to go.

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Well, there is more after this. It will probably only be a few chapters long, but I figure it's better than a one shot, right? Please review; it's only my second fanfic, and the first that is longer than one chapter..._


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